Position
North: Offensive
South: Defensive
Number of States
North: 23
South: 11
Leaders
North: Lincoln, Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, George B McCllelan, George Meade
Already had army + navy
War Democrats Vs Peace Democrats
South: Jefferson Davis (President), Robert E Lee, Thomas Jackson (Stonewall Jackson)
weak government
had better leaders
Capitals
North: Washington DC
South: Montgomery → Richmond (in deep South and surrounded by South)
Economy
North:
Industrial and factories
Control of National Treasury
Taxes + tariffs
South:
plantations (agriculture)
had 9000% inflation
Wealth
North:
self sufficient
diverse industry (lumberers, fisherman, merchants)
currency
South:
from plantations
started new currency (confederate dollars)
Credit
North:
had good credit
more bank deposits here
South:
bad; no credit
no loans
Supplies
North:
manufactured their own weapons
had more food and fresher food
South:
lived off the land
inedible produce (cotton, tobacco, indigo)
dependent on imports
hunted (was good training for marksmen)
Population
North: 22 million
South: 9 million + 4 million slaves (13 mil total)
Transportation
North: railroads going west; more railroads than South
South: bad railroads (each state had their own railroad, so at each state border the cargo had to be unloaded and reloaded onto a different train)
Communication
North: telegraph (had more than the South)
South: telegraph
Military
North:
Strong navy
Pre-existing military infrasture
had cheap guns
could easily replace armies
had state militias
South:
7 out of 8 military colleges were in the South
weaker navy
better military leaders
political leader was in military
Harbors
North: Boston, NYC (also had a lot of natural harbors, such as Philidelphia, Baltimore, etc.)
South: Virginia → Charleston, New Polk; Savannah, Georgia; New Orleans, Louisiana; Gavlenston, Texas; Willmington, North Carolina
Allies
North: Some UK Countries
South: UK (stopped support after Emancipation Proclamation becuase South’s Pro-Slavery Sentiment Exposed, and England is anti-slavery), France
Lincoln Lore
Lincoln disliked slavery, but his main goal was to keep Union together
allowed slavery to remain, but not spread
Steven Douglas (other Presidential Candidate) favored popular sovereignty
so, he was supported by South
if Lincoln won, every subsequent state joining would be free, eventually overpowering South in Federal Government
Election of 1860: Lincoln won
South angered; South Carolina secedes, and the Confederacy forms
Lincoln’s inaugural speech said Union was unbroken (he ignored the secession)
it was a gentle invitation to rejoin, but South saw it as a threat
Northern generals during the Civil War were all kinda old and hesistant to attack, which pissed Lincoln off
Confederacy Forms
Confederacy joined by Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida
Jeff Davis was chosen as President of the Confederacy
thought they could live side-by-side with the Union
Meanwhile, Lincoln said it was unconstitutional, so he ignored the secession and considered South still part of the Union
After CW started, 4 more states seceded (Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Virigina)
Maryland, Delware, and Kentucky stayed in Uion since they could keep slaves
Also, they’re on the border, so if they jioned the Confederacy they would border the enemy, and all the warfare would be in their lands
In Missouri, sentiment was divided, and a mini civil war (like Bloody Kansas) happened
they ended up staying loyal to the Union
Western Virginia didn’t have many salves and didn’t want to leave Union, so they broke off and became West Virginia)
Start of Civil War
Many forts were in the South, and numerous mail services were there as well
Most forts joined the Confederacy, but Fort Sumter refused, so South Carolina refused to give food to Fort Sumter
Lincoln sent supply ships, but they turned away due to Confederacy guns
Led to Firing on Fort Sumter (Apr 14, 1861)
Marked the start of the Civil War
North Vs South Backstory
Robert E Lee wanted to keep the Union together but did not want to fight his family (in Virginia)
Emancipation of enslaved people threatened Southerners, as there would be more competition in the job market (economic turmoil)
Many thought the South might win
they had more experienced generals, knew the land, and knew how to live off the land
South had time to prepare defense
Shorter supply lines + communciation lines (makes them faster)
However, North had more railroads + telegraph lines
South was less centralized
South lost England as an ally after the Emancipation of Proclamation, since it exposed South as pro-slavery and England was not
Southerners were hunters, farmers, gatherers
being hunters prepared them for being marksmen in war
North had edible food, while South mainly grew cotton, tobacco, indigo, and grains
Norht had more exports, leading to more money
North had more states
they could tax more and had more state militias
South created new currency, confederate dollars
was time consuming and expensive
they needed mints, printing, etc. (needed to convert everything)
South had to start their own army and navy (lacked ships + infrastructure)